Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation
Description
This paper focuses on James McNeill Whistler’s stay in Valparaíso in 1866, examining the urban, social, and visual environment he encountered during his nearly six months in the harbor, to which he had been sent in a lesser-known role as a wartime informant. It reconstructs the context of his visit within the framework of the war with Spain, that culminates in the catastrophic bombardment of the city. Whistler’s experience of Valparaíso—then a key Pacific port—is examined as that of a cosmopolitan, transient space shaped by maritime activity and wartime tensions. During this period, he kept a journal—often terse and at times elusive—which serves as a primary source for this research. The paper also considers the city’s material and atmospheric conditions, along with the circuits of observation available to him. Particular attention is given to a new hypothesis regarding the vantage point from which Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso Bay may have been conceived.